Dogara, 5 Governorship Candidates Unite to Wrest Power from Gov Abubakar

Dogara, 5 Governorship Candidates Unite to Wrest Power from Gov Abubakar

By From Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi

Six political parties and other political stakeholders in Bauchi State under the leadership of Speaker Yakubu Dogara have formed a united coalition to ensure the defeat of the incumbent governor, Mohammed Abubakar’s reelection bid.

Addressing journalists on Sunday at the NUJ Secretariat, the convener of the coalition, former Minister, Alhaji Bello Kirfi, said the move was taken after careful review and consultations on the abysmal performance of the APC Government in Bauchi State over the last four years.

The parties are the All Progressives Congress (APC), the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), People’s Redemption Party (PRP), Alliance for Congress of Democrats(ACD), People’s Democratic Movement (PDM), and the Green Party of Nigeria (GPN).

Kirfi, while reading a press statement , signed by himself, and Speaker Dogara, Senator Bala Mohammed, Dr Yakubu Lame, Professor Ali Pate, Alhaji Adamu Jumba, Senator Abdul Ningi, Senator Bala Tela, Senator Nazid Gamawa, Senator Isa Hamma Misau, among several political and community leaders, said that the defeat of Governor Abubakar in the forthcoming election was a task that must be accomplished.

Alhaji Kirfi said that the reason for their unanimous decision was because of the widespread and increasing extreme poverty in the state, as evidenced by the National Bureau for Statistics (NBS), the lack of any meaningful infrastructural development to fuel economic revival, despite significant economic capital flow amounting to more than N50 billion received from the federal government and other sources.

Others include pervasive , unaddressed youth unemployment, poor educational infrastructure and outcomes resulting in the worst record of out of school children in Nigeria and insignificant Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) relative to federal allocations, making Bauchi State the 36th out of 36 states in Nigeria.

He said that members of the coalition have resolved to work together to ensure the defeat of Governor Mohammed Abubakar on March 2, 2019.

Kirfi said that the coalition had also resolved to coordinate their efforts in campaign and during elections to foil Governor Abubakar’s alleged current plans to rig the election using vote buying, instigating violence and machinery of INEC, the police and other security agencies.

“From a united front of their agents at the polling units to mutually support and protect the votes of their coalition’s supporters in the elections.

“Expand the coalition to include the other independent minded parties and stakeholders who are interested in the development of Bauchi State in the gubernatorial elections. Continue to refine the coalition’s approach , including, but not limited to, uniting behind a single candidate at the appropriate time before the elections,'” Kirfi said.

In his remarks, Speaker Dogara, thanked God for the coalition and the people of the state for the courage they exhibited in the past and the courage they will exhibit in the forthcoming elections to ensure the defeat of Governor Abubakar.

He lambasted the Governor for squandering the state resources on building bill boards and recruiting misguided youths to be guarding such bill boards.

Dogara said Governor Abubakar’s mistake was to think that he could use money to buy every politician in the state to his side adding that no sane politician would align with the governor owing to his bad governance.

He lamented that hundreds of billions naira accruing to local governments in the state had been squandered by the Abubakar’s administration.

Dogara said it was rather sad that Gombe and Plateau States had done well in terms of infrastructural development while Bauchi state is lagging behind.

‘Our mission is to stop Governor Mohammed Abubakar and any one that will bring lack of progress and underdevelopment to our dear state will be chased out. The coalition will work to get the best among the candidates to defeat Abubakar, a candidate that will stand by the truth. The coalition is fighting against agents of underdevelopment,” Dogara said.

The Speaker said that there was evidence that violence of unprecedented scale would be created to maintain the status quo, saying, “Some of them have no relations here. But we as a people have resolved to cast our votes and be law abiding. If any one is killed, we will not only defeat him but get a bus to escort him out of the state so that we will live in peace and enjoy the developments that we have always enjoyed before his coming”

Reacting to the development, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Mohammed Abubakar, Abubakar AlSadique, said the coalition was no threat whatsoever to the chances of his principal as leaders of major political parties in the state recently spoke the mind of the people of the state.

Abubakar Al-sadique who spoke by telephone with our correspondent said, “The major drivers of the major political parties in the state such as the former Deputy National Publicity Chairman of PDP, Senator Babayo Gamawa, two former governors of the state, Adamu Muazu and Isa Yuguda, former Secretary to the Government of the federation Yayale Mahmud Ahmed, two former deputy governors and several others from the National Assembly and those who have held top positions all joined the performing governor. The beauty of democracy is that it is the people that decide who they want to lead them if somebody feels otherwise it is his rights but in the end, it is the majority that have their way and the minority their say”.

THISDAY checks revealed that the decision by members of the opposition to form the coalition might have been triggered by the recent defection of two former governors of the state, isa Yuguda, Ahmed Muazu and PDP national deputy chairman, Babayo Garba Gamawa.

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